~ New campaign to disrupt scientific publishing ~
Stafford-based PR specialist Stone Junction to work on a company rebranding project and provide PR and marketing expertise as it launches a new platform to serve as a traceable digital version of the scientific record. The campaign is already underway with the launch of DeSci Publish – the first open-source peer-to-peer platform for scientific publishing.
DeSci’s technology allows scientists to share their research without paywalls or publication charges on an open peer-to-peer network that enables data sovereignty.
It aims to address the replication crisis currently engulfing science by making research findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR).
Part of its plans is to create an incentive layer that will reward referees, authors and editors for high-quality work. This will create revenue streams for journals and communities without relying on paywalls or author publication charges and give communities new tools to improve the speed and quality of the peer review process.
Prof Philipp Koellinger
The company was founded out of frustration with how science is done; its three co-founders include seasoned academics Prof Philipp Koellinger and Dr Christopher Hill, alongside software engineer Sina Iman. Koellinger is published in leading journals such as Nature and Science, has more than 17,000 citations for his work in social science genetics, economics and neuroscience, and has worked as a full professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Hill is a neuro-economist studying strategic behaviour in humans with expertise in machine learning and building IT systems for hospital infection control. Iman, who has previously led engineering teams at Palantir and Anthem and was a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, brings over two decades of software development experience.
“Scientific progress is the cornerstone of human progress and science is the ultimate public good. But the current system is failing for many reasons, and the current business models favour quantity over quality,” said Prof Philipp Koellinger, Co-Founder of DeSci Labs. “Working with an organisation that understands the challenges science faces and believes in what we’re trying to achieve is integral to making this project a success.”
“Stone Junction blends genuine scientific expertise with a wealth of integrated campaign experience, making us well-placed to help DeSci tackle issues in science publishing,” added Dr Patrick Ball, Account Manager at Stone Junction. “DeSci’s platform is a truly novel offering that could fundamentally change how science publishing is done, and our two organisations complement one another well.”
DeSci Labs was founded in 2021 and has since raised $6.5 million in seed funding and grown to a team of 14 engineers and scientists. DeSci Labs is supported by leading investors, including Stride VC, OSS Capital, Protocol Labs, Accomplice, HV Capital, and Holtzbrinck Digital.
The Amsterdam-based company becomes the latest to join Stone Junction’s list of science-based clients, with companies such as Broughton and Proofig AI having worked with the agency for several years. If you’d like help with your scientific publication relations campaign, find out more about Stone Junction’s offering via its website.
About Stone Junction
Specialist STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) PR agency, Stone Junction is a corporate affiliate member of the CIPR and full member of the PRCA.
The company is based in Stafford and boasts a team of 35 consultants who speak thirteen languages between them and are qualified in subjects ranging from chemistry, electronics and IT to biology and natural sciences.
The business has won 35 PR and marketing awards since 2015 and is one of PR Week’s Top 40 Technology PR agencies, Top 150 UK agencies, and Top 50 Agencies Outside London. It was named as the CIPR’s Outstanding Consultancy in the Midlands in 2018 and 2019 and the PRCA’s Outstanding Large Consultancy in the Midlands in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In 2020 it was awarded the CIPR’s Mark of Excellence in the Best Specialist Agency category at its national Excellence awards and in 2021 received the same award for Best Staff Wellbeing Initiative. We think we are boss.
